1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pressure compensation valve to be employed in a hydraulic circuit and so forth for distributing pressurized working fluid supplied from a signal pressurized fluid source to a plurality of hydraulic loads at respectively predetermined flow rates. More specifically, the invention relates to a pressure compensation valve which can distribute the pressurized working fluid of the common pressurized fluid source to a plurality of hydraulic loads, such as hydraulic actuators, without employing a shuttle valve.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a pressurized fluid discharged from a single hydraulic pump is distributed to a plurality of actuators, pressurized fluid tends to be supplied only to the actuator having the lowest load pressure. For avoiding this, hydraulic circuits, such as that shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. Showa 60-11706, for example, have been known. Namely, the hydraulic circuit is constructed such that pressure compensation valves are provided at the inlet sides of direction control valves connected to respective actuators, which pressure compensation valves are set at the highest load pressure among load pressures of respective actuators for distributing flow rates of pressurized fluid discharged from a hydraulic pump to a plurality of actuators having respectively different load pressures.
The pressure compensation valve to be employed in such a hydraulic circuit has a construction for determining an output pressure on the basis of a pressure difference between a higher pressure side pressure chamber and a lower pressure side pressure chamber or a pressure difference between an inlet pressure and an outlet pressure. Therefore, highest load pressure must be introduced to the low pressure side pressure chamber and thus requires a shuttle valve which compares load pressures of respective actuators.